According to the Statista, In 2018, about 281.1 billion phishing emails were sent and received every day, and thousands of users fell for a scam and shared their private data. Another part of Phishing scams comes from social networks and pop-up ads. Phishing scams lead you to money loss and leakage of your personal information. There are different types of phishing scams. You may check more stats here.
The main tip is to be more attentive all the time while using the internet. You may say I’m always careful, but I listed the suggestions to stop phishing that will help you understand what I mean.
How to Prevent Phishing
Hereunder are a few tips you can follow to avoid phishing scams, attacks, or emails for sure.
1. Install An Antivirus Program
Protect your Mac with third-party antivirus and internet security programs. Running antivirus software can help protect you from phishing scams, emails, and attacks. The fact is, antivirus and anti-spam software won’t protect you if you don’t know how to do it yourself. Therefore, you need to act mature and step up your security, following we will show you how.
2. Don’t Open Unrecognized Emails
It would have appeared that we covered it in our previous point, but there is much more to email security than you realize. The first thing you need to do is avoid touching links from any unknown mail. Don’t download the attachments. They have malicious content and will do nothing well. Step up your security and try to use end-to-end encryption. It helps to secure your sensitive emails. If you want, you can try extensions and apps introduced for this purpose. Do not open emails from unrecognized senders. If you opened such an email, don’t follow any links. Phishing via email is a typical way of information theft by phishers.
3. Frequently Reset Password
The first step of breaching your online profile is a password, and in most cases, these are the first things that are compromised. The fact is, there is no such thing as a risk-reward for easy and fast vs. long and hard to guess. Many applications generate a unique, long, and complex password. So avoid using the name of your spouse, kids, hometown or other such sentimental detail as your password, these are very easy to guess. If you are using such a password, then you just give yourself away. Therefore, step up your security and come with a complex and unique password. That doesn’t have to do anything with your life and has an uppercase letter, and at least one number. It will ensure your account stays protected. If needed, you can enable the Double Authentication for every online service you use. Always log out of your accounts and reset the passwords regularly. It is the first thing that the phishers are looking for.
4. Secure Browsing
Everyone is on the internet now. We spend a considerable time on the internet regularly; there is no denying that. We are not saying this is a bad thing; we want you to have a better sense of security while at it. Therefore, we are taking the liberty of suggesting a few tips to secure you while surfing the internet. First, make sure your website address has HTTPS, HTTP+SSL (Secure Socket Layer). Second, switch to anonymous browsing. You can choose a one-time system proxy or a full-time VPN service. Both will help your case. When considering online payments and online transactions, make sure that the website is secure. Take a look at the lock icon in the browser’s status bar or an “https:” URL.
5. Never Share Your Private Data
You should restrain yourself from giving out any personal or sensitive information. This information can be anything, including full name, credit card information, social security number, password, etc. Never email your personal information, even if you know the recipient well. Your personal or financial information can be stolen during the delivery process. Or else, you will never know who may get access to your account. If you find yourself at such a point in a conversation, you better pull the plug. Scammers are targetting you, and its time you take proper measures to improve online security. Don’t be naïve; you need to take extra precautions from onward.
6. Use Pop-up Blockers
As I mentioned above, avoid the pop-up ads and other pages that are asking you to click the link. You may see these websites with the promotion of online games or other content. To enable the pop-up blocker, go to Safari Preferences > Security, and then select the “Block pop-up windows” checkbox.
7. Report Phishing Attack
Always check your online banking accounts for security concerns. In case of any doubtful activity, do not hesitate to report this to the bank.
8. Use Your Common Sense
It is your best defense, trust your gut, and if something feels wrong, turn away. Keep yourself safe and don’t feel bad. It is for our good. So, keep away from clicking on links or downloading a file from an unknown source. It was all about how to prevent phishing scams, attacks, and emails.
